Keep Your Head
by thespringmoon
Summary: The last line on the note was enough to scare any of the guests: 'I'll pick them off, one by one, just like flower petals.' ShinRan//HeiKazu.
1. Prologue

_Hello, there! Let me introduce myself for the people who don't quite know me! My name's Shaina but for the sake of things, I'm called Spring-san. I'm a seventeen-year-old high school senior, but school work almost never delays my writing._

_I'm debating on whether or not I'm an awful person for starting something new when I haven't finished my Bleach fan fiction, Lifestyles. This story has been floating around in my head for… well… a LONG time, and I've been dying to write some ShinRan and HeiKazu! I figure that the plots are SO different that it couldn't possibly mess up either story. Speaking of plots, this is very much a mystery, hence the vague summary you've been given. I refuse to give any secrets or give-aways, so please be patient and stick around to see what's happening (I spent a lot of time ironing out the details)._

_Note to yourself: I'm chatty. I'll often have little notes-- okay… they're not little… but they are very unnecessary for you to have to sit through and read. Feel free to skip over them in the future. You won't be missing very much. I promise._

_Loving that you've even dared to click on this story,  
__Spring-san_

**Disclaimer: **Ai-chan would've already made the cure for Shinichi if I owned Detective Conan. Period.

/0/0/

**Prologue- **_**Dear…**_

"Ah," she started, a bit of grogginess tainting her tone, "Conan-kun?"

A small boy with old-fashioned glasses appeared from the kitchen area with a glass of some unknown liquid. Eyes half-lidded, he approached the young woman lying on the couch and handed it to her slowly, as if he was aching all over… and he probably was. His skin was abnormally red, causing him to curse his poor judgment of how much sunscreen he needed to wear. Swimming with his younger set of friends had been fun, he'd admit, but the aftermath was starting to make him regret even going.

Her deep brown hair framing her face, the girl curled her legs and propped herself up, allowing Conan enough room to recline next to her. He sat down gingerly, repressing the urge to groan at the stinging sensation all over the backside of his body. "Yes, Ran-nee-chan?"

"It's _hot_…"

"I know."

"I'm a… terribly naïve person," she whimpered. Ran was not at all burned from the sun like her companion, but after walking all the way to the grocery store, buying what felt like the heaviest items in the building, and walking back to her residence, heat exhaustion had definitely taken its toll on her. That summer was definitely one of the more unpleasant ones she'd lived through. Record breaking temperatures _every day_ and humidity out the wazoo were all the citizens of Beika City could expect to wake up to. The weather channel had mentioned several times that rain and relief was on its way, but at the very last moment, the wind would change, sending the much needed water elsewhere.

With minimal effort, Conan turned to look at her. Her head was tipped unbelievably far back, elongating her neck. Skin dewy thanks to the stickiness of the air, her body almost seemed to glow, and her hair was shinier than usual. It didn't help that she was wearing orange short-shorts and a borderline-skimpy tank-top. Conan instantly regretted turning to face her, and whipped his head back around, fast enough to cause screaming pain. If it were possible, his cheeks were redder than before as he leaned back into the piece of furniture. "Why do you say that?" he murmured.

She took a sip of the drink she had been provided and deduced that it was the lemonade she had made two days prior. "I… I really should've just called the repairman, right?" Taking another sip, she rubbed the temples of her forehead. "Stupid, stupid, stupid me," she chided vehemently, "trusted good ol' dad after he insisted her could fix the air-conditioning himself. Now, here we are, in the middle of July, without so much as a fan! …It's _hot_, Conan-kun!"

"I know," he repeated in the same manner as he had before, extremely monotonously. Conan wasn't about to disagree with her about the less-than-intelligent decision she had made to let her father attempt to fix their only source of cool air. He wasn't for sure, but he guessed that it was a trivial defect that originally haunted the machine. It only took a minute and twenty-three seconds after Mouri Kogoro began fiddling with it before the entire thing to begin to smoke and eventually ignite itself. "It's too late to worry about it now, though. Here." He handed her a manila folder and she received it gently. It didn't take her long to start fanning herself furiously.

She smiled and sat up completely. Reaching out to him, she smoothed down his disheveled hair. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Lazily extending her arm she grabbed the remote from the table in front of the couch. She wasn't one to watch much television, but she figured it would take her mind off of the discomforting atmosphere. As she brought it back to herself, it slipped from her hand and tumbled under the table. Mumbling incoherent words (Conan assumed she was scolding herself again) she sat her glass down on a coaster and placed her palms and knees on the floor. She ducked her head and grabbed the remote.

"Conan-kun, you can pick what we--" she stopped.

Conan leaned forward slightly. "Something wrong, Ran-nee-chan?"

"No, no. Just found a… letter."

Brow furrowing, he leaned back again and she filled her seat on the couch. "Who's it addressed to?" he asked with slight indifference.

"It's for me. I never get mail," she said with a frown. Turning it over several times, she noted the delicate way her name had been scripted on the faint pink paper, a white carnation blooming from the right-bottom corner. "Weird."

Conan sat for a while before a small smirk played on his lips. "Are you going to open it or just stare at it?"

She laughed with slight embarrassment and tore the top of it off carefully. Pinching out a fine piece of embroidered parchment, she unfolded the letter and began to read it, letting the information soak in slowly. As her eyes scrolled over the words, she involuntarily began to stroke the textured border with her thumbs. "This is so random!" she finally exclaimed, extending it to the boy. "Take a look."

He accepted it and held it relatively close to his face, taking in the words at the same pace Ran had.

_Dear Mouri-san, -- _It read.

_On the first full week of August, I am requesting your presence at my place of residence, _The Terrace, _for a small get-together_. _Chances are that you do not know me, but truth be told, I do not know much about you myself. Nine others have been invited to attend this little gathering, and if it would suit you, I am allowing you the option of bringing three other companions. I truly wish that you will be able to come._

Conan nearly scoffed at the concluding:

_Looking forward to your reservation, White Carnation,  
__Chiba Nozumu, Master of _The Terrace

"What's white carnation mean, Ran-nee-chan?" he asked, handing the invitation back to her. "Are you familiar with this… Chiba-san?"

"Not at all…" she looked over the envelope. "… but…"

'_But'?! _he thought worriedly.

"… I'm considering accepting. The address says that he lives further up north… in the country even! We could get out of Beika and cool down a bit."

"A-ah!" Conan barely prevented himself from falling over. "I-it could be dangerous! I think it's a bad idea. The air conditioning should be fixed… eventually."

She nodded. "Exactly… 'eventually'. I don't want to wait. Besides," she said with an all-too-sweet smile, "you'd be there to protect me! Right, Conan-kun?"

"U-uh…"

She clapped her hands together, excitedly. Getting off the couch fast enough to make her a tad bit dizzy. Clasping her hand to her forehead she dashed out of the living room, spiting out a hurried, "Good! I'm going to call Dad!"

Conan sat for a second, massaging his face before digging in his pocket and pulling out one of his cell phones. He pressed a single button, indicating that the receiver of the phone call was on speed dial, and listened as it rang several times. In the meantime, his mind wandered over how easily Ran had accepted the invitation. Maybe the heat was going to her head after-- Someone picked up.

"…Hey, Hattori… Yeah, yeah… Hold on a second! I've got a question!… Has Kazuha received any weird letters, by chance?" Several seconds passed, and with each passing one, Conan's frown deepened. "Is that so…?"

/0/0/

_I'm so ready to start getting to the really good stuff! I'm quite aware that this sounds terribly cliché' already, but the true mood of this story doesn't start until they get to _The Terrace_! And don't worry, my real chapters are never this short (I wouldn't be able to handle it and if you want proof, go look at any chapter of Lifestyles!). I proofread all of my work several times, but there's bound to be minor mistakes: so sorry!_

_Thank you for trying this out, and if you didn't like it and made it this far to see this, even more thanks and kudos to you! :D_

_I'll have the first chapter out to you soon! Catcha on the flipside, dearest public!_


	2. A Lack of Color

_Hello, everyone! How are you doing? :]_

_Thank you for the reviews! I ALWAYS appreciate them (they really do make my day). As we get going, I'll make sure to respond to your reviews and answer any questions (if I can) that you may or may not have. I try to make this story a clear as possible… but at the same time… I make it pretty vague! Where's the sense in that? There is none? Oh well._

_If I had interesting things to tell you, I'd put them here, but I really don't have much to say for once. Life's been pretty uneventful with the exception of preparing to send my college application out. I had a little mishap a couple of days ago when my fifteen-year-old sister spilled a generous amount of Mountain Dew all over my bag, and thus, my college application. So I'm rushing to fill a new one out so I can mail it. I'm starting to get a little antsy! The deadline's right around the corner, you know!_

_But I digress… shall we get to the story? We shall? Okay!_

_Hopefully college bound,  
__Spring-san_

**Disclaimer: **:checks pocket: I'm still broke! Which must mean I don't own anything, huh? :/

**Chapter One- **_**A Lack of Color**_

Green trees surrounded the rental vehicle that Mouri Kogoro grumpily drove as five excited teenagers chattered behind him, an older man snoring to his left. He was unhappy, to say the least. It was only one-thirty, but he had been driving for God knows how long. The air conditioning was hardly enough to cool all seven individuals in the vehicle, causing an occasional complaint to erupt from his back. Snoring, the very same as mentioned before, was affecting his already amateur driving, which led to the scolding of his observant daughter. Yes, his daughter… the very one who was happily talking to Him… Him being Kudou Shinichi, that is.

The kid had a bad habit of showing up out of nowhere, the detective noted. Originally the seat he was currently occupying would have been taken by the much more space-conserving Conan, but the boy decided that he was going to a short summer camp, located on the outskirts of Beika City. As soon as he was dropped off and he arrived home, there, sitting on his couch, was the high school detective. Kogoro couldn't decide if he would have rather taken the brat or had to stick with the, in his opinion, irritating boy who sat in same beat-down van as himself. He looked in the rear-view mirror, observing just how close Shinichi was sitting next to Ran and instantly deciding that Conan would have been the better choice.

---

"Ahou, it doesn't open like that!" Heiji shouted, reaching over Kazuha. She had been, unsuccessfully, trying to open one of the four windows located in the back of the van. "It goes like…" he fiddled with the handle of the window, yanking it backwards a bit. "…this?" Frowning he tugged at it again, finding that it wouldn't budge.

"Who's the ahou now, hm?!" Kazuha retorted, nudging him off of her. "It looks to me as if it's-" she pushed the window open, "-you!"

He huffed and turned to look out of the window on his side, crossing his arms and pouting. Ran turned around to look at the two, an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry, Kazuha! I should have told you from the start that it opened outwards…"

Kazuha waved her off with a grin on her face. "It's okay! I knew from the start. You should be apologizing to Heiji, over here."

Ran turned her gaze to the tan detective. "Sor--"

"Don't say it!" he cut her off. "I make one mistake and she thinks she can rub it in my face!"

"Exactly!" Kazuha sang to his right. "Kudou-kun?"

Shinichi blinked, mouth stuffed with food he'd managed to sneak into the van. "Yesh?"

Kazuha scrunched up her face. "Do you think we could change seats? I don't want to have to deal with sourpuss back here."

Heiji crossed his arms even tighter and released an indignant "humph!" Grinning, Shinichi crawled over the seat and flopped down next to his peer. Kazuha did the same, begging the boys to look the other direction thanks to the length of her skirt. Heiji didn't. Placing herself in between Ran and Sonoko, Kazuha looked at wealthy teen, who was sleeping deeply, earphones drowning out any noise that could possibly wake her up.

"So, Sonoko got a letter too, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah! Hold on," Ran responded, bending over to pick up Sonoko's bag from under the seat. She dug into it and pulled out an envelope that carried the same color as her own. "See? Look."

She handed it to the Kansai beauty and began looking for her own. Kazuha looked it over carefully, taking notice of the yellow flower located in the same position that she had found hers. "Say, Ran-chan?"

"Mm?"

"What kind of flower is this?"

"The letter said 'Yellow Poppy'."

"Oh…"

"What kind was on your letter, Kazuha?"

"It said 'Red Camellia' but I had never seen a flower like it before I got the letter. Yours was a white carnation right?"

"Yes. I wonder what it means. Maybe going to this was a bad decision."

"Don't worry, Ran-chan!" Kazuha said smiling, patting her on the shoulders. "Your boyfriend's here to protect you!"

"H-hey, Kazuha-chan! He's not my boyfriend!" she whispered, her face terribly flushed. "And don't say such things! He's right there!"

"Oh, he's not paying attention! He and Heiji are talking. Probably about detective business."

She glanced at the two from the corner of her eyes and over her shoulder. "Probably."

/0/0/

"So the Doc was able to get you an antidote to go on this trip?" Heiji asked, finally breaking out of his pouting.

Shinichi nodded. "It's not the same kind, though."

"Oh?"

"It's more potent, Haibara said. The one I've taken is supposed to last a little over a week, so it should be enough to last me during this trip. However," he said glancing up at the foremost passenger seat, "Professor Agasa's here just in case something were to happen."

"I see."

"Yeah… there's something… really sketchy about this entire thing. No one in this vehicle has even heard about this 'Chiba Nozumu'. Agasa tried doing some research on him and couldn't find a single thing." He paused. "And Ran insisted on going. I don't think I'd be able to do much as Conan…"

"I don't like it," Heiji remarked casually. "We're walking into unknown territory and something tells me that this isn't a simple garden party. And what's with the bit about the flowers? Poppy, carnation, and Camilla…"

"Camellia," Shinichi corrected.

"Right. None of it makes sense to me."

"Well, we can assume that the other guests that this person invited are all female. We've got three for three sitting right in front of us."

Heiji nodded. "They've probably been assigned the names of flowers as well, but why Kazuha, Ran, and Sonoko?"

"There's not too many similarities." Cupping his chin with his hand, Shinichi leant his head on the back of the seat. "All female. All high school students. Two of the three have detectives for friends. One has a detective for a father. One is from the Kansai district. One's got money…" he trailed off.

"So what?" Heiji asked a little irritated. "We're going to have to figure it once we get there?"

"It's what we're good at," Shinichi answered with a smirk.

The van began to ascend on a steep road, sending all of the passengers hard onto the backs of their seats and successfully waking Sonoko and the sleeping doctor from their slumbers. Ran looked out of her window to see nothing but a mass of trees and a dirt road.

"Dad… are you going the right way? It looks as if we're going up a mountain!"

"We are," Agasa managed to yawn out, rubbing his eyes. "Look. You can see the higher we get, the less trees there are." As they drove on, the trees became replaced by intimidating walls of rock, looming overhead.

Sonoko rubbed the tears from her eyes and stretched, looking out the vehicle as everyone else. Gasping, she placed the palms of her hands on the window closest to herself. "Oh, oh, oh! We're almost there aren't we?"

"Do you see a house?!" Kogoro snapped, looking at her from the mirror.

"Actually…" Kazuha trailed off, pointing at a little patch of white that had managed to peak from the mush of emerald.

Kogoro squinted. "Oh…"

"Goodie!" Sonoko squeaked, clapping her hands together. She looked for her bag under the seat to find that Ran had been holding onto it. Ran passed it to her and her privileged friend began rummaging through it, finally pulling a tiny pocket mirror out after a few moments. As she fixed her hair, Ran's face contorted.

"A little excited, are we, Sonoko?"

"Of course!" Her eyes became vacant as if she were dreamily about something. "My radar's going off!"

"Radar?" Kazuha questioned, her face twisting just as Ran's had.

"Mm!" She dug in the bag again and pulled out a small brush. Stroking her hair, she smiled as brightly as anyone could have managed to in such awful weather. "I call it the 'Ultra-Super-Accurate-Can-Never-Fail-At-Detecting-Hot-Guys-Radar'! You can start to feel jealous right about… now!"

"The name's too long…" Ran said with an exhausted sigh. She'd never get used to Sonoko's antics, no matter how long she knew her. The funny thing was that Ran didn't doubt that she actually possessed such a built-in radar. Every time she predicted that they would find decent guys… they always managed to. Although Ran wasn't too keen on finding anyone serious, she would have to confess that the girl was born to be boy-crazy.

"Nonsense!" Sonoko said, a small pout overtaking her smile. "I thought very hard about that name! It's been approved by a variety of people, ranging from--"

"Guys to more guys…" Ran finished her sentence.

"How did you know?" she asked, genuine curiosity overcoming her features. "Do you have your own special, not-as-cool-as-mine radar? One that can detect the--"

"Certainly not," Ran said, exhaling dramatically and looking out the window to see that the white that had been spotted before had grown tremendously. With each passing second, the most beautiful house she'd ever seen (and that was saying a lot of Ran; she'd been to many parties at several elaborate mansions) made itself completely visible to the group.

A lush green garden surrounding it, the large white house stood at the top of the incline. Its pearly white walls absorbed the sun's light as if they were sponges, giving off the appearance that they were glowing. Ran could spot four different balconies, all on the same floor that, Ran assumed, was the level that contained the bedrooms. An abundance of windows gave the newest arrivals a full view into the house. Even from the distance that they were, Ran could see the large pieces of furniture in what looked like the lounge; it was all white. As they continued to approach, the group was able to detect the ample amount of white roses. Traveling down the path that led to the door, they covered the entirety of the bushes, leaving little green to peak out from behind them.

The eldest detective carefully parked the car in front of the pathway and turned the keys in the ignition. Shutting off with an unceremoniously loud gurgled, the van doors flew and slid open as the eager teens poured out from it. For what seemed like the hundredth time, Sonoko ran her fingers through her hair in a final attempt to perfect her appearance. Ran and Kazuha admiringly gazed at the prize-worthy roses, with Kogoro complaining and Agasa yawning behind them.

Shinichi and Heiji, however, wasted little time making their way up the stone path, both of them drinking in as much observation as they could manage. The rest of the group caught on quickly and, with the exception of the two older men, bustled to catch up to them.

An immaculate door waited for them at the end of their trek, causing the girls to gasp. On the portal were six large boxes containing an innocent looking girl, a regal king, a cat with a broad smile, a misshapen man with a goofy expression and hat, a timid rabbit, and a mellow caterpillar with a pipe.

"Alice in Wonderland!" they exclaimed together, Kazuha taking the liberty to trace the square that housed the caterpillar.

Shinichi and Heiji looked over their shoulders with little expressions, except for the raised eyebrows which acted as a signal for the girls to continue talking. Sonoko and Ran joined Kazuha at the door. Standing on her toes, Ran barely reached the portrait of the girl with her extended finger.

"You're heard of Alice, Shinichi!" she said, struggling to keep her balance. "She's a girl who finds herself in Wonderland when she doses off one day! There--"

"There," Sonoko continued for her, allowing her friend to drop onto the entirety of her feet, "She meets several different… um… people! The King's a little out of place since he doesn't come in until later… but right here," she positioned herself so the boys could see the small hare, "is the rabbit that captures her curiosity and leads her in!"

"This is the Cheshire Cat that is always grinning," Ran said, jumping back in. "He's a rather confusing character, though."

"And here's the Mad Hatter! He's rude and a bit… kooky!"

"The caterpillar," Kazuha chimed in, "is down here. He's strict and a little unfriendly… but he's relatively wise."

"Oh and this!" Heiji exclaimed with mocking excitement and a pointed finger at the girls. "These are our in-house experts, right Kudou?"

Shinichi smirked. "It looks that way!"

"Hey, ahou!" Kazuha shouted, slapping away his finger. "First of all, that's rude! And secondly, don't make fun of us!"

"We weren't even making fun of you, ahou!" Heiji said defensively, rubbing his now stinging finger. "Why do you three know so much about it anyway?"

Sonoko instantly traveled into a dreamy state. "I've never met a girl who didn't like Alice in Wonderland," she replied lazily. "They even have a Disney movie."

Ran smiled weakly. "It's just a good story."

"Excuse me?" an unrecognized voiced emerged from behind the five. Startled, they whipped around to see a tiny woman with wide eyes standing behind them. Wearing a long, navy skirt, white blouse, and white apron, she stared blankly at them. Her hair was dark, nearly black, and pulled into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, glasses hanging on her nose and doing nothing but making her eyes look bigger. She carried a basket of freshly cut roses, a pair of scissors, and a watering pitcher. Her face and body language carried a certain meekness and a dash of slight nervousness. "Are you here for the gathering Chiba-san has prepared?"

After their hearts settled from the scare and bowed lightly to her, Ran taking the initiative to step forward. "Yes," she said. "We were invited."

The woman promptly set her things on the ground and bowed deeply. "It is very nice that you have decided to join us. I am Sugiyama Shiori, the head maid at _The Terrace_, and I will be serving you and the other guests this weekend, as the other maids are off duty." She navigated around the other teenagers as Kogoro and Agasa finally arrived, overwhelmed with suitcases the others managed to forget about. "Before we enter, I will need to see your invitation and confirm which guests belong to who."

Ran had already prepared hers in the event that they would want proof and handed it to the woman. Kazuha pulled her folded invitation from her back pocket to find that it was wrinkled a bit and gave it away with an apology. Ran, who had never placed it back in its original place, passed the invitation that belonged to Sonoko to her friend, who casually transferred it to the maid. The maid looked them over carefully.

" 'Red Camellia', 'Yellow Poppy', and 'White Carnation'. Chiba-san will be pleased to see that you've come. Can you please inform me of your guest choices."

Ran pushed Shinichi next to the professor and her father quickly. "These three are my guests."

"Alright," she said, examining them silently. "And this young man…?"

"This ahou's with me!" Kazuha answered her unfinished question with an all-too-cheery smile.

Oblivious to Heiji's low growl, the maid turned to look at Sonoko who at some point stuffed a piece of gum in her mouth. "And you, miss. Did you bring any guests?"

Sonoko popped her gum with a raised eyebrow. "I sure didn't!" When she noticed how the maid's face had taken on one of surprised, Sonoko blinked rapidly. "Should I have?"

"Well… it's not required, or course. You're awfully bold to come without anyone. Aren't you terrified to be going into a house where you know no one?"

Sonoko chuckled slightly. "Oh, no! All of us know each other."

"What?" the maid said, as her startled countenance changed once again, this time into one of clear reproach. "Did you say you know each other?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Well, this… this is certainly different…"

Shinichi frowned, stepping forward with curiosity slowly filling his eyes. "Is there a problem? With us knowing each other?"

"N-no. I just don't think Chiba-san intended for such a coincidence to occur, but please, gather your things and I will show you to your rooms. I will inform Chiba-san of this matter. He will probably find it funny."

All seven of them looked back and forth at each other before they, much to the professor and Kogoro's pleasure, grabbed a few of their bags and followed behind Shiori.

/0/0/

"What a beautifully… symmetrical room," Ran said, trying to be polite while stepping slowly into the room that was to be her, Sonoko, and Kazuha's room for the remainder of that week. It was a beautiful room, that much Ran was certain of, but the accuracy of just how symmetrical everything was freaked Ran out. Two large white beds laid facing the door way and two windows rested above the headboards. The wall, the carpet, the nightstands that sat beside the beds; all of them were white. On the nightstands, Ran could see pencils that mirrored each other perfectly. And speaking of mirrors…

"Is that entire wall a mirror?" Kazuha asked, impressed at its size. She looked at herself in it and then turned back to the others.

Shiori nodded. "It is. If you push this button here," she punched a small white button to her right, and a whirling noise sounded on the other wall, "then you can have both walls as mirrors. Usually one is enough for most guests."

"Jeez! No kidding!" Sonoko grabbed her forehead dramatically. "The way they continually reflect each other is giving me a migraine!"

Pushing the button with an apologetic smile, Shiori turned to leave the room. "I'm sorry. You can leave it up if you'd like to. It's just a feature Chiba-san's parents put in. They had a different sort of taste."

"We understand," Ran said.

"I will show these men to their rooms," Shiori remarked over her shoulder. "If you will look in the night stand drawers, there should be a note for you all. Follow its instructions, please."

She walked out, Kogoro and Agasa close at her heels. Shinichi and Heiji stood in the doorway, examining the room with scrutinizing detail.

"You guys better go, huh?" Kazuha breathed lazily as she flopped down on the cushiony bed. "You'll get lost! This place is huge."

The boys looked at each other seriously before turning to the girls.

"Hey, uh… Ran?" Shinichi called for her.

She looked over her shoulder. "Mm?"

"Be careful… alright?"

Ran blinked a couple of times before smiling at him. "I will."

He grinned and exited completely, leaving Heiji. The tawny young man turned to leave. "Stay out of trouble, ahou!" he called over his shoulder before he left to catch up with his peer.

Kazuha bolted up in the bed, ready to retort before she realized he was already gone. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to--!"

"I'm so excited!" Sonoko squealed, interrupting Kazuha's threat. Ran and Kazuha glanced over at her to see a torn envelope tainting the white carpet and Sonoko extending a piece of parchment out to them. "Read it!"

Ran took it gingerly and turned it around so that it was readable.

_Precious Flowers, _--It started, promptly causing Ran and Kazuha to frown slightly.

_Thank you for gracing us with your presence for the week. I am truly overjoyed that you are able to attend. Introductions and explanations will be provided after dinner, which starts at six o'clock this evening. Please be on time. I would very much like to meet you all soon._

_Sugiyama-san, whom you should have met, will bring you your evening attire around four-thirty. Each of these gowns have been crafted especially for you. Please wear them._

_Eagerly waiting to make your acquaintance,  
__Chiba Nozumu, Master of _The Terrace

/0/0/

:wipes nonexistent sweat off forehead:

All done! Thank you for reading! Ready for some drama? :D Next chapter's right up your alley.

As always: I've proofread the chapter a few times! But I'm always prone to missing smaller things! Sorry! So sorry!

Bye bye! :]

Next: **Chapter Two- **_**Dine and Dash**_


End file.
